Best 1st LVL Feat?

[taliesin15]

Irregardless of class, I think Improved Initiative is the best Feat for a 1st level character. Spellcasters are less apt to have spells interrupted, Rogues can sneak attack more effectively, an obvious advantage for Fighters like killing/subduing a low level opponent before they can hit you at all.

Discuss.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Irregardless of class, I think Improved Initiative is the best Feat for a 1st level character. Spellcasters are less apt to have spells interrupted, Rogues can sneak attack more effectively, an obvious advantage for Fighters like killing/subduing a low level opponent before they can hit you at all.

Discuss.

I'm fond of two first level feats:

(1.) My DM house rules Toughness to be 3 HP/level. So, that's mega-useful.
(2.) Quick Draw.

Generally, I don't take Imp. Init. - it's useful and all, but I really don't mind rolling a poor initiative... and, it's something that will inevitably be improved eventually by some Gloves of Dex. Ahhh, I love magical equipment.

(GRAMMAR NAZI MOMENT: irregardless isn't a word. REGARDLESS is. )

 

[Kae'Yoss]

(1.) My DM house rules Toughness to be 3 HP/level. So, that's mega-useful.

That's not "mega-useful". That's more broken then your arm when you stick it out of the car and it hits a concrete pier at 250 mp/h....

Generally, I don't take Imp. Init. - it's useful and all, but I really don't mind rolling a poor initiative... and, it's something that will inevitably be improved eventually by some Gloves of Dex. Ahhh, I love magical equipment.

Imp Init gives +4. The gloves give +3 tops. And beside that: the improvement from the gloves stack with the Imp Init.

(And when we're talking stuff that you get from magic items: Glove of storing. Draw AND sheathe your weapon as a free action. Better than Quick Draw in most situations, unless you need several weapons)

Being first in the fight isn't important for everyone, but a rogue can really use that. Get a surprise round and strike once. Win initiative and make a full attack with both hands - and the guy is still flat-footed. Provided that most of those attacks hit, that guy will be really pissed.

 

[Shellman]

Hmmmm... Toughness as 3 hp/ level !

Hmmmm... Toughness as 3 hp per level !

Now thats broken, especially since the new feat Improved Toughness grants
+1 hit point per Hit Die.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Hmmmm... Toughness as 3 hp per level !

Now thats broken, especially since the new feat Improved Toughness grants
+1 hit point per Hit Die.

Indeed, it's broken. The ruling was made at the beginning of the campaign by the DM when the severity of the brokenness was not yet clear.

But, I've been assured that it won't be run that way in the future. *sniffle* I'll never be able to use Con as my dump stat again!

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

I agree insofar as Improved Initiative is never a bad choice. Whether it is the best choice depends enormously on the nature of your PC and the party as a whole.

It is a very good choice for characters high in offense and low in defense: Wizards, Sorcerors, and Rogues.

As a counterexample, a Fighter who likes getting his full iterative attacks and has heavy armor may not care all that much if the enemy comes to him to help him set up a Cleave. In this case, weak creatures may die more quickly if the Fighter does not go first.

Characters that want to build feat trees may want to forego Improved Initiative. For example, I have a low level Gnone Druid. He has Spell Focus Conjuration and Augment Summoning. At 6th level he will get Natural Spell. At 9th level it will some kind of Wildshaping feat. I am not going to give up any of those feat for a measly +4 to Init.

 

[Doug McCrae]

(1.) My DM house rules Toughness to be 3 HP/level. So, that's mega-useful.

Your DM has messed up a little there, IMHO.

 

[IronWolf]

While I agree that Improved Initiative is a good feat I am not sure it is the best in all cases. Oftentimes going first is great, spellcaster, the sneaky rogue, etc. But as someone already mentioned, a battle hardened fighter would probably just as soon let the enemy wander on up so he can get his full attack in, etc.

 

[Crothian]

I've yet to have a character with improved initiativve. I';d go with Iron Will as will saves at low level are usulaly life threatening.

 

[ivocaliban]

I find it amusing that this thread is going to be hijacked by people weighing in on this:

(1.) My DM house rules Toughness to be 3 HP/level. So, that's mega-useful.

Toughness, under this house rule, would become something more than a choice, it would be indispensable for nearly all characters (PCs and NPCs alike).

As to the actual question at hand, I remain unconvinced that there is a best 1st level feat. Several others have mentioned that Improved Initiative does provide a significant advantage to certain classes, but to others it may be less than ideal. Power Attack, Dodge, Combat Expertise or Point Blank Shot might be argued as more useful for those wanting to climb the feat trees. A Rogue with a particularly high Dexterity and low Strength might want to consider Weapon Finesse, as attacking first doesn't necessarily mean that fate will be kind to your dice rolls. A 1st level Sorcerer or Wizard (particularly an elf) might want to consider Toughness, in hopes of surviving at least one direct attack.

So, yes, Improved Initiative is a great feat, but I don't think it's universally best at 1st level. Although it is always nice to be the player that goes first, I've seen too many moments where +4 to initiative didn't do the PC much good at all.